Autumn 1: Spatial Sense
This unit is the first discrete geography unit Year One pupils will study. It introduces aerial views; the first step in supporting children’s conceptual understanding of maps. Building on an understanding of what things look like from an aerial perspective, children then look at how cartographers (map makers) represent physical (natural) and human (made by people) features of an area on a drawn map. They find out how symbols are used on maps and how a key can tell us what the symbols mean. The four-point compass is introduced, and children will use some positional language to describe locations. They will look at simple routes on a map based around a familiar location using firsthand observation to help them link what they see in the world around them, to what is represented on a map.